It is thought that the conventional game of backgammon is one of the oldest games known to man. Although backgammon is thought to date back for approximately five thousand years, it is thought that the present form of the game evolved in approximately the Tenth Century. In 1743 the famous Edmund Hoyle codified the rules and strategy of the game and since that time, the only significant change that has taken place has been the addition of the doubling cube, which although adding to the excitement of the game, has not materially effected the actual game play.
As presently constituted, conventional backgammon is essentially a two-player game even though there are some variations of backgrammon that permit play by more than two people. For exmaple, in the game known as Chouette, a team of two or more players headed by a captain plays against a solitary opponent on a standard backgammon board. Duo-gammon is a variation of Chouette in which two-man teams play against each other on a standard backgammon board. Each person on a team takes alternate turns in moving the same set of playing pieces. There is also a game known as Quadragammon but this game completely changes the format of the standard backgammon board thus losing the benefits derived from familiarity of moves on a standard backgammon board. Also, in this game there is an entirely different setup for the playing pieces when playing partners, as opposed to individual play.
None of the above-described games permit total individual play by each player in a generally standard backgammon format and hence it has been found desirable to provide a modified form of backgammon wherein the same basic playing board is utilized and wherein the standard rules of conventional backgammon are generally followed, but which at the same time permits four players to partake in the game, either competing against each other individually or competing as two-man teams, and wherein each player has total individual control over his own playing pieces. This is accomplished by providing a game board comprising three sections rather than the conventional two sections which exist in the standard backgammon board. Each of the three sections in the game board of the present invention is identical in all respects to the design and arrangement of the current conventional two-sectioned board whereby either of the outermost sections of the novel board of the present invention, when taken in combination with the center section, actually simulates the current two-section board.
Each player is provided with a set of playing pieces visually distinguishable from the playing pieces of the other players so that with each player starting from a different corner of the game board, the players are initially arranged in conventional backgammon fashion, i.e. the arrangement of playing pieces on the outer sections will identically duplicate the arrangement of playing pieces in conventional backgammon, whereas the center section will have twice as many playing pieces positioned therein as would otherwise be the case. Following the general rules of conventional backgammon, each player moves his pieces through the adjacent outer section and the center section, i.e. each player actually only uses two of the three sections, with one pair of players using one of the outer sections and the common center section, and the other pair of players using the other outer section and the common center section. Thus the present invention provides a variation of conventional backgammon wherein the game board, although modified as above indicated, retains the same format as the standard backgammon board and wherein the playing pieces move through the same number of spaces as in conventional backgammon, while utilizing most of the standard moves thereof. The present invention permits four people to play backgammon either competing individually or against each other or as partners, and in either case, each player has his own set of playing pieces over which he exercises complete individual control. When played in the partnership format, the present invention permits each player to cooperate with and assist his partner thus enhancing the overall excitement and strategy of the game.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawing.